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50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 3)
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That Girl
"That Señorita"
Originally aired December 11, 1970
Wiki said:
Ann gets a lesson in minority relations when she is in a television sketch that is offensive to Mexicans. Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., guest stars as Rudy Sanchez.
Marlo's brownface supertan is really noticeable again...or maybe it's actually supposed to be brownface here, as it was most noticeable in scenes in which she was in her role...which Ann really gets into, having Donald and the Baumans over for Mexican food while Jerry makes margaritas; but Ann's co-star, Felix (Alejandro Rey), plots with Rudy and Raoul (Pepe Callahan) about seeing that the sketch isn't used, and persuading Ann to join them. Ann invites Felix over to her place for rehearsal, with Don present. Felix brings Rudy and Raoul, and the three of them sit down and explain that they're part of an organization called Dignidades (Dignities), which is concerned with combatting negative Mexican stereotypes, and ask Ann to refuse to do the sketch. In a case of comically bad timing, Jerry chooses that moment to come over sporting a costume and accent, singing in mock-Mexican style. Mortified, Ann walks into her closet.
Once Jerry is properly informed, Ann suggests that instead of refusing to do the sketch, she should drop her fake accent. But when she tries that in rehearsals, the director (Dick Yarmy) just assumes that she intends to use it in the final show. Ann approaches the director privately about it and he threatens to have her thrown out of Equity. So Ann stands on her principles and drops out of the gig. Ann later learns on TV that the sketch was dropped, following which Felix comes over to inform her that the producers dropped all charges against them and are paying them for the full run of the play, in return for allowing the press to believe that dropping the sketch was the producers' idea.
"Oh, Donald" count:
3
"Oh, Felix" count:
1
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Love, American Style
"Love and the Happy Couple / Love and the Understanding"
Originally aired December 11, 1970
In "Love and the Understanding," Mrs. Preston (Virginia Graham) and Lyla O'Connor (Pamela Mason), both divorcees, are trying to break to their younger friend Dodo (Naomi Lewis) that her husband, Charles (Jim Backus), is cheating on her. She explains that the woman he's been seen with is his new secretary, and seems really thick about the situation, reinforcing Charles's excuses, like that he's playing poker on Wednesday nights when they've been seen together; and even denying that it's him when the ladies produce a blurry photo. Charles then comes home early with the secretary, Candy (Karen Smith), and goes upstairs to work with her. The ladies try to get Dodo to go up and intervene, but she doesn't want to disturb Charles while he's working. The ladies leave, and Charles and Candy come down and announce that they're in love and want to get married; and Dodo still seems thick about it, noting that he's already married. She then matter-of-factly points out some drawbacks to Charles and Candy's plan, including indicating his actual age, which causes Candy to have second thoughts. When he starts to suffer from a twitching condition, Candy makes an excuse to leave while Dodo gets his medication...and it becomes clear that Dodo has things firmly under control.
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Mission: Impossible
"Squeeze Play"
Originally aired December 12, 1970
Wiki said:
Paris impersonates an American mobster in order to infiltrate the Syndicate's Mediterranean branch, obtain the list of their opium suppliers, and prevent the branch's terminally ill boss (Albert Paulsen) from perpetuating his empire.
The episode opens with Albert Zembra (Paulsen in age makeup and a wheelchair) being threatened by a member of the French syndicate that he's a marked man for not agreeing to consolidation. Zembra has his rival killed...his granddaughter, Eve (Victoria Vetri), overhearing the gunshots while outside playing with her German shepherd, Rolff.
The miniature reel-to-reel tape in a locker in a dockside storage room said:
Good morning, Mister Phelps. Albert Zembra, the supreme boss of the syndicate's Mediterranean branch, which processes one-fourth of the world's illegal supply of heroin, is dying of cancer. Zembra will soon designate a successor to whom he will transfer a secret list of the opium farms, transportation routes, carriers, and corrupt officials through which he operates.
Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is to obtain that secret list and prevent Zembra from perpetuating his empire. As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.
And it's a Willy episode--I now feel my Hoosier pride kicking in!
One of the contenders for succeeding Zembra, Paul Corrigan (Peter Kilman), is waylaid en route and replaced by Paris....sans a disguise, as Corrigan recently had plastic surgery. Paris is brought to the house and reacquaints himself with all of the people he doesn't really know. Rolff reacts to him, but Paris calms him with the help of a drug provided by Barney. Paris plays up his role's relationship with Eve from a visit Corrigan made ten years earlier, when both were younger. Meanwhile, Dana infiltrates the household as a substitute nurse. Zembra's other potential heir, Carlos (Nico Minardos) finds her scoping out jewels, for which she makes a flimsy excuse.
A man sneaks onto the estate in a ski mask and makes a fake attempt on Zembra, which Paris spots and foils. The assailant is unmasked to reveal Barney, who's carrying identification that places him as an operative of the new French syndicate man whom Jim is portraying. Barney later busts out of the cellar with the help of some plastic explosive and an obvious fight double. Carlos meets with Jim and Willy at an outdoor cafe, where Jim asserts that Zembra must die for refusing the consolidation offer, and shares fake intel that Zembra favors Corrigan as his heir. Back at home, Carlos finds evidence of Dana's thievery, and she offers to do anything. While the more obvious choice of payment is floated, he wants her to find out what's going on in Zembra's head.
Dana gives Zembra his medication, with a substitution that puts him out during a meeting with Paris. Carlos listens in via an intercom as Paris uses his voice mastery to hold both sides of the conversation, which confirms Jim's intel, so Carlos calls Jim and tells him that he's got a deal. Carlos proceeds to assist Jim and Willy in abducting Eve, following which Jim calls Zembra with his demands. Zembra agrees to a rendezvous, with Paris going into the warehouse to check on Eve and parlay with Jim. Eve surprises the IMFers inside by revealing that she's already figured out that Paris is an impostor. Paris has a private talk with her in which he confronts her with the truth about what her grandfather does, to persuade her to go along with the charade. Zembra is wheeled in, and Willy stages a fake hit attempt in which Carlos is made to look complicit and which Paris foils. Zembra then privately confronts Carlos and shoots him. Zembra anoints Paris as his heir by giving Paris his ring, which contains a microdot with the obligatory list. In a last moment with Paris, Eve expresses her desire to stay with her grandfather until the end.
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The Mary Tyler Moore Show
"He's All Yours"
Originally aired December 12, 1970
Wiki said:
Mary must deal with the amorous advances of WJM's obnoxious, and very young, new cameraman.
The new cameraman, Allen (Wes Stern) gets some negative attention from Lou after WJM airs his coverage of a fire that consists of a close-up of a brick with ants crawling on it. Allen explains that he did it on purpose, making an artistic statement that life goes on for the ants. Allen turns down a sympathetic dinner invitation from Murray, but jumps at the suggestion of one from Mary. At Mary's apartment, she gets her first hint of Allen's nature when he makes a grab for Rhoda in the kitchen. After she leaves, he quickly makes his intentions toward clear, and leaves disappointed...only to tell the guys at work the next day about how Mary came onto him. Mary goes to tell Lou and finds out that Allen's his nephew before having the chance. Lou orders Mary to be sympathetic and patient with Allen, as she ends up getting stuck spending more time with him.
Allen comes by the apartment when Phyllis is there alone. She tests him and he takes the bait, upon which she calls Mary down from Rhoda's. When Mary confronts him, he admits to being a phony and tells her that he's desperate and feels that there's something wrong with him...
Allen: You don't know what it's like to feel like the only virgin in the whole college.
Mary: Well, as a matter of fact I do.
Lou then drops by, pissed because Allen wasn't out covering a brewery explosion. When Mary tries to explain for Allen, he says that he was just kidding around with her. Lou ends up demoting Allen to another department, where he'll be working under a less attractive prospect.
In the coda, Ted tries to come onto Mary and she turns him down flat.
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Hanging out with Julie Barnes.
Can't pick on Julie when the whole Squad's been missing for so long.
Decades can you hear me!?!
He took impulsive action assuming that she was in on the scam.
And here I am in a blizzard with nothing but my Comcast business connection to keep me company all day.
Yeah, as a new stay-at-home worker, it was definitely a mixed blessing...didn't have to dig out, got to stay comfy at home, but it was still just another work day.
Wow, that's rather gruesome for The Odd Couple.
They didn't show the corpse or go into detail, of course. The decomposition was implied, I think, by the uncertainty over whether or not it was Felix, based on the body having been found in the river.
Do we ever learn how the desiccated corpse came into possession of his wallet?
If we did, I blinked.
Okay, I'd like to see that.
Longer shots seemed to be using a stunt double, which included Alice finishing by jumping into Mike's arms.
Must be a Millennial.
As none of them would be born for over a decade, I think you're just underscoring the similarities between the Boomers and Millennials. As I put it in a thread on the subject somewhere, we Gen Xers were sandwiched between two attention whore generations.
My Grandmother (on my Father's side) had an aluminum Christmas tree-- plus a rotating colored light that made it change color.
Something I found interesting in the review that
Neopeius linked to were the criticisms about the negativity and meanness of the
Peanuts characters, which echo what I'd read of in-the-time reviews of the special. As a kid, I never had an issue with this. Charlie Brown was a picked-on, hard-luck type, which made him a character that a lot of people could relate to.
Perhaps there's still hope...
